FOX
Whenever a television show reaches its 100th episode, there's always some sort of special celebration. Well, Glee has decided to put all of those celebrations to shame with its 100th episode spectacular on March 18th. In addition to allowing the fans to choose their top 10 favorite Glee songs to be remixed and re-performed on the night - think of it as the Glee tribute episode to Glee - creator Ryan Murphy has confirmed that he invited all of the original cast members to return to the show, so that everyone can celebrate together. Among those confirmed to reprise their roles are Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Harry Shum Jr., Kristin Chenoweth, and Heather Morris, who left at the end of last season to have her son, Elijah.
Most notably, Dianna Agron, who played cheerleader Quinn Fabray, confirmed via Twitter that she would indeed be returning for the 100th episode, despite not appearing in the show's tribute episode to Cory Monteith. There have been rumors of bad blood between her and Murphy for some time now, and her absence from "The Quarterback" only seemed to fuel the fire. However, it seems that the two have managed to bury the hatchet in order to give the fans what they want, and to celebrate Glee.
Of course, this is Glee, so no matter how many original cast members or old school performances the show gets together, there's always the chance that things could go terribly wrong and the 100th episode spectacular could turn into a 100th episode train wreck. In order to give the writers a helping hand, we've come up with four things that the March 18th celebration should include, and 4 things that should be avoided at all costs.
DOs:
Focus on the "Originals"Glee currently juggles two separate shows: one in New York, with Rachel, Kurt and Santana, and one in Ohio with Mr. Shue and the McKinley High glee club, and the adventures in New York are always far more entertaining than anything going on back in Lima. This is partially because we are more familiar with Kurt, Rachel, and Santana and therefore more invested in what happens to them, but it's also partially because we've sat through so many of those Ohio plots before. Therefore, the best thing for the writers to do on the 100th episode is to focus on all of the original cast members, rather than attempting to shoehorn the new kids into the plots. It worked well for the Monteith tribute episode, so it should work just as well this time around. And be sure to let us all know just what everyone's up to now, and why they came back to McKinley in the first place. It seems obvious, but those are details that Glee tends to leave out.
Strip Back the PerformancesSure, it wouldn't be Glee without an over-the-top array of costumes, dancing, and numbers that would put even the most expensive Broadway show to shame. But some of the show's best moments occured when the songs were quieter, simpler, and made sense in terms of the story they were telling. Rachel's pilot performance of "On My Own" was a touching look into who the character was and what made her tick. Santana's use of Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" to tell Brittany how she felt about her was both moving and memorable. Artie singing "Dream a Little Dream of Me" as he came to the realization that he would have to give up on his dreams was one of the most underappreciated numbers that Glee has ever featured, and one of its best, the Rachel/Quinn duet of West Side Story's "I Feel Pretty" and TLC's "Unpretty" is proof that sometimes less is more. Glee shouldn't be afraid ot go big for their 100th episode, but they should remember that their strengths often lie in their smaller moments.
Give Mercedes an Actual PlotThis one might just be a personal opinion, but it always seemed unfair that Mercedes never got a proper story arc to herself. Her leaving New Directions to form a new glee club was presented, resolved and forgotten about in only a few episodes, and the show spent much of that time painting her as the villain, rather than using it as a way to create a compelling story for an underused character. Similarly, her relationship with Sam was ignored and practically retconned, even though it was one of the most interesting plots the show has ever developed. So, Glee, why not put Sam and Mercedes back together for the 100th episode so fans can find out what really went on between them. Sam was never more interesting than he was with Mercedes, and it would be the perfect excuse to give her plenty of perfectly-sung diva numbers.
Bring Back MattWay back in Season 1, there was a character named Matt Rutherford, played by Dijon Talton. Despite being both a football player and a member of the glee club, Matt only spoke two lines over the entire season, and then disappeared without ever being mentioned again. There would be no character return that would excite the fans more than bringing back Matt for the 100th episode. Besides, everyone's dying to know where he went, why he left, and why nobody ever brought him up again. The characters may have forgotten Matt, but the fans never will.
DON'Ts:
Making It Schue-CentricWhen it comes to Glee, there is no character more universally reviled than the head of the glee club, Will Schuester. He's not only creepy towards his students and far too involved with their day-to-day lives, but he's also a terrible teacher. Remember how he used to be a Spanish teacher, but couldn't actually speak the language? Has he even stepped foot into an actual classroom since the first season? He not only had his students help him propose to Ms. Pillsbury, but he also had Finn be his best man. A move that should have been sweet just turned out weird. He even stole Finn's letterman jacket - that never belonged to him in the first place - from Santana while she was sleeping, and then blamed it on Puck. He's the worst. It's probably tempting to make Mr. Schue the focal point of the episode, for the narrative's sake, but it's better for all involved if he just stands in the background and occasionally writes a word on the whiteboard.
Too Much Singing, Not Enough Story Glee was originally intended to be a television show that featured musical numbers, then it became a televised musical, but now it's just an excuse to shoehorn in as many random songs and productions numbers as possible, without any regard to the story going on around them. We're not sure when the Glee writers forgot that songs do not magically make up for a lack of plot, but we sincerely hope that it's a lesson they remember when it comes time to write the 100th episode. Otherwise, it just becomes blatantly obvious that someone heard something on the radio and just decided to work it into an episode so that it would run a full 45 minutes.
Love Triangles on Love Triangles on Love TrianglesWe get it; love triangles are a super easy way to add conflict to a show. But Glee has featured so many that they've run out of every single possible combination. Seriously, there's been Will/Terri/Emma, Finn/Rachel/Quinn, Finn/Rachel/Jesse, Finn/Quinn/Sam, Sam/Mercedes/Mercedes' Football Boyfriend, Santana/Brittany/Artie, Artie/Tina/Mike, and Blaine/Kurt/Creepy Dalton Guy to name - literally - only a fraction. For the 100th episode, why not take a break from all of that romantic confusion and focus instead on the kids who made up the glee club, and the friendship that bonds them together. Or, if you prefer, have them all fight each other. Just make sure it's not over a romantic rival.
Anything Even Remotely Resembling This:
No offense to Jane Lynch, who is often one of the show's best elements, but everything about this was a terrible idea. This may be the worst performance the show has ever done. Watch it, learn from it, and never speak of it again.
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CBS
For every toxic, unstable, will-they-won't-they sitcom relationship, there is a simpler, sweeter, invariably less interesting counterpart. Ross/Rachel had the comfortably tepid Monica/Chandler. The Office balanced the chaos of Dwight/Angela, Michael/Holly, and Andy/Erin with the post-Season 4 doldrums of Jim/Pam. And through all the difficulty of fixing together Leslie and Ben, Ann and Chris, and Tom and anyone, we've had the unlikely rock-solid staple of April and Andy. On How I Met Your Mother, this pinnacle of psycho-romantic health is the Marshall/Lily combination — having endured only one trifle early on in the series run prior to this new arc's revelation that Marshall accepted a judgeship in New York that directly conflicted with Lily's plans to movie to Italy. And on the other side of the fence on the long-running CBS sitcom, we've seen Barney and Robin flounder through various mental problems to hold fast to the love that blooms (and often rots) between them. Those two are loons, not capable of a mature, healthy, giving relationship. But, like many people who fit that bill, they're getting married now.
Many viewers have surmised that the Stinson-Scherbatsky union might never come to be, and that How I Met Your Mother will conclude with the revelation that Barney and Robin realize that they aren't quite right for one another (or maybe for marriage at all) and opt to part ways amicably. If this were real life, we might root for this twist of fate. As much as we might enjoy their harebrained antics, we see evidence far too often that Barney and Robin are not part of what one might call a "good" relationship.
Sometimes, the pair champions this, using it to bolster their definition of passionate, non-traditional love. This week's episode, "The Rehearsal Dinner," is a primarily fun and sweet example of this kind of antic — Barney tricks Robin into believing one of his many long, elaborate, diagnostically insane lies in order to lead her to a surprise rehearsal dinner themed after her native home of Canada. It doesn't quite make up for the fact that she, despite her professed wishes, does not actually get to be married in Canada... but Robin Thicke shows up, so everybody wins.
But although "The Rehearsal Dinner" is a particularly enjoyable episode, there is one element of it that rubs me the wrong way: the Robin of it all. Throughout, she strains to contain Barney as he lies, manipulates, ignores, and mocks her, all in the name of giving her a great surprise. The relationship doesn't seem to be about two emotionally frayed people finding a common ground, but about one reasonably stable woman dealing relentlessly with her emotionally frayed fiancé.
We can argue, in favor of the pair, that Robin too is a nut. And she is, historically. But her time with Barney seems to have made her out to be the sane one. Lord knows that "Rehearsal Dinner" exhibits more angst on Robin's part than voluntary lunacy. She commits to the ideas of rehearsal dinners and regimens, worrying about things we've never seen the abjectly offbeat Robin worry about... all in contrast to her maniacal beau. Being around Barney's crazy has actually made Robin seem less crazy (and more boring, we might add), and we're not too fond of this shift.
What makes the Michael/Hollys and April/Andys of the TV world ultimately work? Their compatibility. Barney and Robin advertise this, and occasionally show us a good time and some heartwarming (and funny) moments. But are they compatible? "The Rehearsal Dinner" makes us skeptical.
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Married stars Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz faced a setback during their Broadway performance of Betrayal on Saturday (30Nov13) as the production was plagued with technical problems. The British actors are currently portraying married couple Robert and Emma in the revival of Harold Pinter's 1978 play, which tells the story of a woman's affair with her husband's friend.
However, the performance was temporarily stalled on Saturday because of stage problems, but the actors pushed on with the show even though the set had to be manually changed between each scene.
A representative for the production tells New York Post gossip column Page Six, "The show's automation failed after Scene 2, into Scene 3, necessitating manual set changes for the rest of the performance. Of the 1,100 people in the sold-out audience, there were less than 10 requests for refunds or exchanges. There was a 15-minute pause following the breakdown during which the cast made the decision to continue the performance.
"They continued on brilliantly, and each scene change received a round of applause. They finished at 10:26 pm, about 40 minutes later than usual. After an immediate standing ovation, Daniel Craig thanked the audience for their patience and the show's crew for their efforts to ensure the show would go on."

Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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New mother Evan Rachel Wood is already struggling to get back into work mode as she suffers "separation anxiety" whenever she is parted from her newborn tot. The actress took a four-month break from filming to spend the early days of her son's life at home, but she recently returned to the promotional trail to support her new movie Charlie Countryman.
At a screening of the film in New York, Wood revealed she hated leaving her baby at home while she went to work, saying, "I was lucky because I had done three films and got pregnant so I was like, 'I've got stuff in the can. I'm taking a break!'
"I've been having separation anxiety because I'm so used to him being right here all the time. They kind of become a part of you, you know?"
However, the star insists being a mother has turned out to be her favourite role to date, adding, "It was my dream to be a mom, so I'm loving it. I love it."
The tot, whose name Wood is yet to reveal, is her first with husband Jamie Bell.

Theatre producers in New York are set to launch a new musical about Jesus set to the tunes of Britney Spears. Tracks including Stronger, (You Drive Me) Crazy and ...Baby One More Time are being used to score Spears The Musical: The Gospel According to Britney, which will detail the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Christian figurehead.
Show creator Pat Blute says, "These are Britney's lyrics. These are Jesus Christ's images. The Britney Spears you see is not Britney Spears. Remember that. The Jesus Christ you read is not Jesus Christ. These are manifestations. Accounts through the media, through the words of followers, of friends, of foes, of villains, of heroes, of liars, of biases.
"It's a falsehood that people believe fame and fortune create happiness. That all 'deaths' receive a resurrection. I hope this project will show you otherwise through the power of listening and the power of forgiveness."
The musical is set to be previewed for investors in the Big Apple on 7 November (13).
It's not the only odd news concerning Spears that has hit headlines this week (begs28Oct13) - security shipping crews accompanying supertankers off the coast of Africa have been using the Toxic hitmaker's music to scare off Somali pirates.
British Merchant Navy officer Rachel Owens, who guides ships through the dangerous seas, recently revealed, "As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney they move on as quickly as they can. Her songs were chosen by security accompanying tankers because they thought the pirates would hate them most."

Married actors Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz have received glowing reviews for their performances opposite each other in a Broadway production of Betrayal. The Hollywood stars play married couple Robert and Emma in the revival of Harold Pinter's 1978 play, which tells the story of a woman's affair with her husband's pal, played by Rafe Spall.
The production officially opened on Sunday (27Oct13) to mixed reviews, which largely praised the three lead actors' efforts while expressing disappointment with the show.
Joe Dziemianowicz, of the New York Daily News, hails Craig and Weisz as "smashing and sexy" while noting the 007 star's ability to bring "a virility and vibrant expressiveness" to his character, but Elysa Gardner of USA Today writes that the production "doesn't pack as much punch as you'd hope it would" and "feels strangely subdued".
Elisabeth Vincentelli, for the New York Post, also slams the show as "emotionally distant and a tad too tasteful" but praises Weisz for bringing "a stunning, warm beauty... paired with emotional opacity" to her role.
Charles McNulty, of the Los Angeles Times, describes it as "sleek and luxurious" and a "handsome production" while also hailing Spall's performance as "the most thrilling in the cast", and Tom Teodorczuk, of Britain's The Independent, writes that Craig and Weisz turn in "knockout performances".
However, The Guardian's David Cote takes aim at director Mike Nichols, insisting he has "the tone completely wrong" and describing the show as a "glossy, empty revival".

Millennium Entertainment
Putting a dark spin on modern romance, debut director Fredrik Bond's upcoming film Charlie Countryman tells the story of a young man (Shia LaBeouf) who careens through the turmoils of violence, underground crime, and mental instability in order to protect the woman he has come to identify as his one true love. These new exclusive images from the movie, which debuted at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, showcase the vicious nature of the story, which stars the likes of Mads Mikkelsen, Evan Rachel Wood, and Rupert Grint opposite LaBeouf.
Offering up a hint of the violence and psychological mayhem that we might find once the film releases, the Charlie Countryman images show a new side to actors like LaBeouf and Grint (the latter of whom we know best as Ron Weasley) and more of the usual darkness from Wood and that horrifying Mikkelsen. Check out the pics, and catch Charlie Countryman in theaters and on VOD on Nov. 15.
Millennium Entertainment
Millennium Entertainment
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George Chin/WENN
Time flies. It seems like it was just 1983. We were in our first term with Ronald Reagan as President. More often than not, I was standing in line at Tower Records to get a new cassette that had been released so I could play it on my tape player. It was a time when I was really getting into music and MTV was playing often at my home television. Now it's 30 years later and I have a home, a wife, a child and a mortgage. I still listen to a lot of this music though. Here's five of the best from that year:
Madonna: Madonna
To use some computer terms, this was Madonna Version 1.0. Now she's on Version 20.0, she's changed her image that often. People forget just what an influential force she was then. If you walked the streets of New York in 1983, you would have thought she had cloned herself about a million times over - nearly EVERY girl was imitating her style, particularly from her "Borderline" video. Forget the Rachel-hair style in the '90s, everyone was wearing the Madonna. Thank goodness people in the '90s didn't wear cone-shaped bras.
Genesis: Genesis
I wrote more at length about this one, but I still think it merits a place on here. Earlier Genesis fans may decry the more poppy sound (sorry, guys, that happened more around Duke). The first song, "Mama," was SUCH a dark one, with Phil Collins singing, screaming and maniacally laughing about a prostitute. Everybody remembers "That's All" and both parts of the "Home By The Sea" suite. This is where Genesis became HUGE, because they also embraced MTV. Collins , never afraid to do anything silly in front of the camera, used both his voice and charisma in videos of those first two songs as well as a not-so-p.c. video for "Illegal Alien."
The Police: Synchronicity
When I first played this album and heard "Sychronicity I"'s frantic keyboard opening and then Stewart Copeland's frenzied drumming, I knew I was going to love this album. It's one that I can listen to in its entirety today. Yes, I still like "Mother" and "Miss Grandenko," the singing and songwriting efforts of guitarist Andy Summers and Copeland. While "Every Breath You Take" is the song that everyone remembers, I'd have to say "Synchronicity II", with its video set in an apocalyptic wasteland, is my own favorite. It's a pity that Sting, Copeland and Summers really almost actively hated each other after touring with this album and subsequently split: I remember thinking around 1984 or '85: Whaddya mean there's not going to be another Police album?
Def Leppard: Pyromania
Yes, you just heard that opening twang of "Photograph" when you read this, didn't you? Another band that rode the wave on MTV's widespread reach with their cool if not somewhat cheesy video (in one song, Joe Elliot is carrying a sword even bigger than he is) Elliot's raspy voice is what sold it for many fans. While not as much of a total masterpiece like their follow-up, Hysteria, Pyromania had memorable songs like "Foolin"' and "Rock of Ages" And remember...Gunter Glieben Glauchen Globen.
Talking Heads: Speaking In Tongues
This was David Byrne in the big white suit, shimmying and swaying to songs like "Burning Down The House" and continuing the band's penchant for making REALLY weird videos. The first time I saw the end of "Burning Down The House," where the projection of Byrne's face rolls down the street, it weirded me out. Then I got past that and realized what a great album it was. Songs like "Making Flippy Floppy" and "Slippery People" kept me hooked. When coupled with the Stop Making Sense concert movie that was made the following year and it's just fantastic. It's a pity that they broke up eight short years later.
It was hard to constrain myself to five here - I could probably choose 50 of them if I had the time or space. There were plenty of bands that I left out, like Metallica and Eurythmics, just to name a couple. It was that good of a year. Your list may be different, so let us know below!
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Everett Collection
After previously stating that he would be interested in reprising his role as Hans Solo in Star Wars: Episode VII, Harrison Ford has changed his tune and says that he still hasn't decided if he wants to be in the film, according to CinemaBlend.com.
In an interview on the UK's Graham Norton Show on BBC, Ford revealed that "he had not quite made the choice" to accept a cameo in the film, which is in great contrast to when he told WGN TV in March 2013 that he was "looking forward to it."
However, just because he might turn down a cameo in Star Wars, it doesn't mean that he's done with all of his famous characters. In the same interview with Norton, he said that he would have no problem gallavanting as Indiana Jones in a fifth adventure.
"I would do it in a New York minute, yes," Ford said. "I don't think there is any barrier to Indiana Jones being an old fart." Clearly he's not opposed to reliving old glory.
Star Wars: Episode VII is set for release in 2015.
More:Simon Pegg Wants No Part of 'Star Wars: Episode 7'The 20 'Star Wars' Origin Stories We'd Like to SeeAlex Pettyfer and Rachel Hurd-Wood Rumored for 'Star Wars: Episode 7'
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